Vowel Sounds
by JustALittleOfNanny
Summary: Some season 1-5 based Willow/Buffy oneshots. R&R, please.
1. Being Crazy

**Kind of like my other story, **_**Not Legally,**_** but set between the first and fifth seasons.**

**This particular one is set in the fourth season, between **_**Something Blue**_** and **_**Doomed.**_

_Crazy_

Riley was early. He knew he was and even scolded himself for it, but he had always liked to be ahead of schedule. Okay, so being so early loses its merits if you're this early to a date, but he was anxious. Practicing starting different dinner topics in front of the mirror will only get you so far and he was anxious to try out his newly found skill; having a real, honest-to-god, no babbling conversation with Buffy.

He'd had to build up the courage to ask her to dinner for a few weeks. When she'd agreed to give him a chance, he'd been ecstatic, but she'd seemed...distant. As though she had a lot on her mind. Then again, she always seemed to be distracted these days.

Walking down the hallway, Riley took a deep breath and came to a stop outside their dorm door, which was already slightly ajar. Raising his first, he prepared to knock when he heard Buffy speaking just inside. He paused, his knuckles brushing against the wood.

"Will, I can't just...erase what I'm feeling," she was saying. Nudging the door a bit, Riley was able to see the two of them, Willow and Buffy. Willow was sitting on her bed facing the middle of the room. Buffy stood between their beds and was looking down at Willow. "If I could, don't you think I would?"

Willow shook her head. "Riley's a nice guy, Buffy. It's not fair." Riley smirked from his post outside the door.

"Yeah, he is a nice guy, but I'm not sure I can handle this much longer." He watched as Buffy approached Willow and put her hand on her roomate's cheek. "But, ever since we started sharing this dorm, it's like I've been going insane. I can't sleep or eat or even patrol without you in my mind." She took a breath. "Am I crazy, or am I falling in lo-"

"Buffy, stop," Willow said, cutting her short. She closed her eyes and grabbed the hand that was on her cheek, holding it there. "We can't do this."

"Why?" Buffy demanded.

Willow opened her eyes and looked at her. "Because Riley's a nice guy...because I'm getting over Oz, because we're...straight...Because we just...can't."

Buffy used her free hand to wipe her eyes. "Don't tell me you don't feel it too."

"I do...f-feel it," she admitted, wiping her own eyes. "And I _am_ falling in...in l-love with you."

"Then why can't we be together?"

"Buffy, we can't...do this. Not now." Willow closed her eyes again and Buffy sniffled a bit.

Riley, unable to believe his ears, knocked on the door and entered the room. Buffy pulled her hand away from Willow's face and mumbled something about her having had lettuce in her hair. He smiled at Willow, who had turned to wipe her eyes, before looking at Buffy. "Hey, Buffy, I...um forgot to tell you that I have some...papers to grade tonight, so we'll have to reschedule."

She was silent for a few moments, but then Buffy nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "Some other time then."

"Some other time." He nodded and turned to leave. He shut the door quietly behind him and watched Buffy kiss Willow's forehead before clicking it shut. He walked back to his own dorm slowly, trying to sift through what he'd just witnessed.

Being the nice guy they'd agreed he was, Riley never rescheduled.

**I have about 10 of these little oneshots that I'm gonna put in this story. Let me know what you think.**


	2. Being Boring

**Time for some bonding with Professor Walsh. Haha. Not sure when this takes place. Sometime after **_**Wild At Heart**_**, though. Anyway, let me know.**

_Boring_

Her lecture was boring. She knew it was. Heck, she'd even be willing to admit it in front of a live audience. However, knowing is very different than caring. Her students, clearly having noticed the tedious subject they were covering that day, were idly playing with their pencils or doodling on their papers or even speaking in hushed tones. Except for those two-the ones in the middle row.

It was the blond girl she'd met before. Buffy something. Summers? Hm. Maybe. Next to her sat the only person still paying attention. The red-haired girl next to Buffy was still listening intently, even taking notes.

Summers, she noted, was not watching her, but instead had her eyes glued on the red-head. Not looking-over-the-shoulder-note-taking either. She was staring at her friend's face, a sligh smile on her mouth.

Professor Walsh felt herself smiling as she continued to speak and pace in front of the almost completely inattentive class. Perhaps she'd allow Buffy not to pay attention today. Just this once.

**Short, I know, but I'm gonna post the next one today as well, which is slightly longer and somewhat worth it. Tell me what you thought.**


	3. Being Observant

**Okay, now some time with Ms. Calendar. Gotta love her. XD This is set in the middle of season two. **

_Observant_

No one had ever denied that Jenny Calendar was observant. Granted, no one had ever confirmed that she was either. But, still, she liked to believe that there was something to it.

For instance, right now, as she sat in the library with Rupert, Xander, Willow, and Buffy discussing this new 'Spike' character, she seemed to be the only one to notice that Willow looked extremely nervous. Or, she at least _thought_ she was.

She did, however, seem to be the only one to see Buffy sit down next to Willow, grab her hand and talk to her in a hushed voice. Okay, one for, one against.

She saw the calming effect that Buffy had on Willow. She noticed how all the signs of anxiety seemingly disappeared from Willow's face as Buffy spoke to her and Jenny smiled to herself.

She had seen, and heard, over the course of the past few weeks more than she knew she was supposed to. She'd watched both girls intently during the past weeks, noticing certain things that she was certain were supposed to remain secret.

Why, just yesterday, she'd walked into the computer lab-where Willow was supposed to be researching Spike-to see both girls kissing each other fervently. Instead of breaking them up, however, she'd just backed out of the room and come back when a disheveled Buffy had left an equally disheveled Willow for the library.

And two weeks ago, she'd heard them talking to each other in the hallway as she'd shut down the lab. Curious, she'd followed their voices to where they stood talking to each other. Buffy had been pacing in front of Willow. After several minutes of this, she'd turned to Willow and blurted out, "I'm in love with you." Willow had been silent for a moment, so Buffy began to stumble over her words, trying to explain herself. Willow had just stepped forward and kissed her gently. That was about when Jenny Calendar had stepped away.

Over the past several days, she'd walked in on them more than once; embracing lovingly, kissing, holding hands, or having private conversations. She'd said nothing, as always. She'd just stayed long enough to be pleased and turned away.

She'd not spoken of these private conversations or liaisons to anyone. But as she sat in the library with the others, watching the young couple comfort each other, she wondered if it was truly best to keep her observations to herself.

**There you go. Jenny knows all. Don't deny the truth.**


	4. Being Paranoid

**Okay, now it's Oz time. Sort of. As much as I don't really like Oz, this one actually makes me kind of sad.**

**Takes place towards the end of season two or even in season three. You're choice, really.**

_Paranoid_

He hated this. Always had. Okay, so not _always. _Sometimes it was nice. Or, maybe it was love he was feeling right now. Devon was singing loudly like he always did. He felt his ears begin to ache like they did _whenever_ they played the Bronze. They weren't done yet, though. They still had two songs to finish playing.

Willow had waved to him when she'd fist come in, just like she always did. He'd smiled just like _he _always did and his eyes had been glued on her from that moment on. She was sitting at one of the tables near the back with Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia. Cordelia had dragged Xander to the dance floor four times already, but Buffy and Willow had yet to move away from the table.

As they song they'd been playing ended and a new one began, Buffy stood and looked down at Willow expectantly. Willow gave her a confused look before Buffy pulled her to her feet and dragged her onto the thinning dance floor. It was a fast song and Buffy began to dance. She visibly sighed, however, when Willow just bobbed to the music slightly. Grabbing Willow's hips, she started to move her manually.

Eventually, Willow began to dance of her own free will. As she did, Buffy took her hands and stood with her back to her, pulling her close and forcing them to dance with each other.

Under normal circumstances, Oz would have smiled, but these were not normal circumstances. Lately, he'd been nervous about losing Willow. Not to another guy or Xander, but to Buffy. The two were close and it was hard for him not to be paranoid.

Maybe he was being crazy. Maybe it was his imagination, but sometimes they just stared too long or smiled too much at the things they said. Whenever this happened, all the fear he had of losing her intensified to a numbing ache.

He frowned as they continued dancing, eventually getting so close to one another that even Xander and Cordelia were looking at them in shock. They took no notice, just continued on as they were. By the last song, their roles had switched and it was Buffy who had her arms around Willow. Their faces held no expression and their eyes looked nowhere else. They seemed to be calm, only conveying how they were feeling by the motions they made.

As the band finished up, Buffy and Willow drifted back to the table, nervously avoiding eye contact with the others and each other. Oz set down his guitar and headed over, smiling as convincingly as he could.

"I've got to...um, go." Buffy stood, gathered her things, and left as quickly as she was able.

"Hey," Willow said finally, turning to face Oz. She smiled slightly as he kissed her forehead, but she looked away as soon as she could.

Maybe one day she would leave him. Maybe that day was coming soon. But as he looked at her, Oz decided to hold on to whatever he had left.

**See? Isn't that sort of...depressing? I hate myself for writing that. XD Tell me what you thought.**


	5. Being Aware

**Quality time with Spike. Sounds fun, doesn't it? This is set in season five, but it's AU, since Tara's not in it **_**at all**_**. It's sort of like—in this story—she didn't exist. Think of it like that.**

_Aware_

He'd always noticed, always been aware. He, among most of the others, saw it because it had always been there. Even from the beginning—when he'd first started tormenting the Slayer—he'd seen it. And when he'd kidnapped the witch, he'd noticed how she'd been so sure the Slayer would save them, so convinced.

Even now, as he peeked in the window, he saw it there, in Buffy's eyes. Even in the dim light of the dining room, her eyes glowed as she looked across the table. A smile was forming on her lips. Red's head didn't move, but, after getting a better angle outside the window, he saw her watching Buffy with the same look of loving adoration.

It was in vain, he knew, that he loved Buffy. She was so clearly meant for another, never destined to be his. He loved her with all of his…No, not soul. He hadn't one. Nor was 'heart' quite the word he was searching for. He loved her with all of his being; his essence, his deeds, his eyes, his arms, legs, toes, fingers. Everything belonged to her. But she didn't belong to him and never would.

She hadn't even been Angel's. She would swear on her life that she had, but there was no way she could have. She'd been sold already at that point. He had heard how they'd met and he guessed that she'd been spirited away right then.

It had always been there, he reminded himself. He was an intruder. Just like Angel and Oz and Riley had been.

And as Buffy stood, walked over to Willow and kissed her with more love and passion than he'd seen her show before, Spike knew that he had been right all along.

**It just gets more and more depressing. Haha. Not next chapter. I promise. The next one will be more fun. Let me know what you thought.**


	6. Being Intrusive

**Wow. Writing this I realized just how much I love Cordelia. Haha.**

_Intrusive_

Cordelia tugged Xander through the empty hallways, leading him towards the nearest utility closet.

"Giles can live without us for a few minutes," she assured him as they walked, not that he was complaining. "Wait here," she ordered, letting go of his shirt.

She walked over to the door and stopped. Reaching down, she opened it a crack and peeked in. Apparently, that particular closed was already taken. She saw two figures just inside, their arms around each other and kissing passionately. She saw the auburn hair of one of the figures and smirked as she saw who she was with.

Her smile growing wider, Cordelia closed the door and turned back to Xander. "That one is ocupado," she informed after noticing his confused look.

She wouldn't say by _whom,_ though. No way. Now _she_ had the power. Maybe Buffy would remember that the next time she snuck away with Willow for a closet rendezvous. She snickered quietly. Oh, this was going to be _good._

**There you go. I'm probably going to post Joyce's chapter next. Let me know what you thought of this one, though.**


	7. Being Surprised

**Okay, so sorry it took so long to get this chapter posted. Hang on. Scratch that. It's been…only a few days. Nevermind.**

**This is set in either later season two or in season three. Again, feel free to pick whichever you fancy.**

_Surprised_

It was barely 8 o'clock when she woke up. That was early for her, if only by a half an hour at the most. She rose and slipped on her robe before sliding her feet into her slippers. She'd already decided that breakfast for the girls was the best idea for right now.

Joyce Summers walked into the hallway and headed towards Buffy's room. Her door was closed, so Joyce pushed it open and glanced inside. As she had expected, Willow and Buffy were in Buffy's bed. She wasn't, however, expecting them to be curled around each other as they were.

Stepping forward, she made sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. They weren't. Buffy was sleeping with her arms around Willow's waist, one of her legs pushed between Willow's. Willow had her fingers laced through Buffy's—on one of the hands around her waist. Buffy's mouth was near her ear and both girls had contented smiles on their faces.

Although she'd come into her daughter's room with the intention of waking them up, she felt far too surprised to do so now. Although she'd had good friends in high school, none of them had ever been this close to her. She'd noticed for a long time—denied it though she had—that Buffy and Willow were closer than normal friends were.

She would have had to be a fool not to notice that, whenever they were together, they seemed to revolve around one another. When one would talk, the other would watch with a gleam in their eye. It shocked her how much they seemingly cared for each other.

"Buffy?" she said finally. "Honey, time to get up."

Buffy blinked several times before looking up at her mother. "Hey," she murmured with a smile. As she went to get up, she jostled Willow awake. It took them a few moments, but they eventually realized how they had been laying.

Surprised as Joyce had been, they seemed to be far more shocked. They pulled away from one another as though they'd been shocked and looked down, blushing. Joyce stood there awkwardly, trying not to seem out of place in her daughter's room.

"I'm going to make breakfast," she told them, trying to seem as though nothing was amiss. "You two can come down whenever you're ready."

As she left the room, she heard both girls try to apologize at once and she smiled to herself. They'd figure it out eventually, but, for now, she could at least enjoy the show.

**I actually hated typing up this story, like it though I do. It might have been because I stupidly watched **_**The Body**_** this morning. Silly me.**

**Tell me what you thought.**


	8. Being Bewildered

**Okay, here's Xander's chapter. Woot.**

_Bewildered_

"Xander, get the demonology glossary from the encyclopedias in the back section, please," Giles instructed. He sat at the study table with an open book in front of him.

Xander shook his head, trying to clear his head of thoughts, and stood. "Sure thing, G-man." Perhaps it was because he was off to do a favor for him that Giles simply let him off with a pointed glare at the sound of the nickname.

Xander jogged up the steps and went to the back sections, passing the doors and humming quietly to himself. As he pushed through the doorway, he stopped at the sound of movement to his right. He made a face and perked up his ears. Upon hearing a quiet 'thunk,' he moved himself into a defensive stance and shuffled forward as quietly as he could.

He followed the noises past rows and rows of books before he spotted Buffy less than ten feet ahead. She had her back to him and was seemingly pinning someone to the bookshelf against the wall.

"Buffy?" he called out, slightly afraid that she'd run into some…mucus-y demon as she was back there.

She turned and Xander's mouth almost fell to the floor. It wasn't her flushed face, messy hair, or bruised lips that shocked him, however. It was that, once she'd moved he'd been able to see who she'd been pinning to the bookshelf.

"Willow?" he managed to spit out in bewilderment. "What-"

Buffy pulled her arms from around Willow's waist and turned to face him completely.

"Xander," Willow started breathlessly. "Good to see you."

"You two…bu-but you two w-were…" His mouth imitated a flounder's uselessly.

"Yeah." Buffy nodded.

"B-but…"

Willow gave him a sympathetic look. "We were waiting for the right time to tell you." Buffy nodded again and grabbed Willow's hand. "Are you okay with it?"

Still unable to speak, he nodded once and turned to go.

"Where are you going?" Buffy asked, her eyebrows drawn together in worry and confusion.

As he kept moving, Xander called out behind him, "Cold shower."

**I didn't really enjoy that one as much as I should have. Hmm…I'll most likely do either Giles' or Faith's next. Not sure which yet, though.**


	9. Being Frustrated

**Finally, here's Giles's chapter. You can read my apology at the ending. :] Enjoy.**

_Frustrated_

The things that happen in Rupert Giles's kitchen displease him…greatly.

It's their fault, really. Or perhaps they should blame the mayor's ascension. Quite honestly, someone needs to be blamed and whether it's the deceased mayor-snake-monster or the various members of the Scooby gang is something he doesn't have enough energy left to decide. But, ever since the high school was gone and he was short a job, they'd been having their meetings at his apartment. Normally he'd be fine, that is, if the things that were carried out in the place where he made his food could be classified as normal.

Spike, who had granted himself free reign of the living space, had been caught more than once by his gracious host. Several times, Giles had walked in to see Spike…pleasing himself through his trousers. 'To each his own' is a phrase that Giles enjoys to live by, except, however, when 'his own' is being carried out in his kitchen. Even Xander and Anya, though who could be surprised by that really, had been discovered.

The last time had been the worst by far. Giles had walked in to see Anya on her knees in front of Xander. Now, there were a number of reasons why she could have been on her knees—the list beginning with tying her boyfriend's shoe and ending with picking up something she'd dropped. None of these were correct. He found this out after a flustered Xander pulled Anya to her feet and ignoring her speech about Giles's impeccable timing. Giles had simply told them, kindly, to leave and barred himself in his room to think of other things.

Each and every time Giles walks into his kitchen, it seems that two or less people are attacking each other in fits of hormonal need. He doesn't bring it up—doesn't even think about it. He scolds them, sure, but he expects their embarrassment to get the job done. Which it doesn't, mind you. At least, not often enough to make him happy again.

Today, he decided, _was_ the worst. As if his last run-in with Anya and Xander hadn't been bad enough, he'd gotten red enough to boil as he'd walked into his kitchen earlier on.

He'd been sent out by Buffy to get food once the meeting had finished and the others had left. Ever since the fiasco that had been Buffy's gracious attempt at a normal Thanksgiving, he'd been sent out weekly to restock his refrigerator and cabinets. He hadn't complained yet as his philosophy continued to be set around making sure not to get the Slayer unhappy.

The trip had not taken long—since going out every week and being a bachelor, he didn't have need for much food—and he'd returned to his apartment complex within the hour. Thinking he would alone in there, besides Spike, he strolled in happily and walked straight for the kitchen, stopping short at the sight.

Willow was pinned against the far wall, her arms above her head. Buffy was holding them there, assaulting Willow's lips with her own as she pressed their bodies together. The only fortunate part about it was that both of them still had all of their garments on. They were, however, making…unsavory sounds that Giles felt he could have gone a lifetime before hearing.

Sighing, Giles called them to attention with a raucous, "Oh, for heaven's sake!" Buffy pulled away and they both turned to look at him, their faces flushing as they saw his stern expression. "Next time, I'll find some wards to ban you all from my kitchen. All of you. The things you lot think you can do in here." He shook his head and pulled off his glasses, cleaning them in a nervous frenzy. "There are two beds in this apartment alone, not counting the beds you have in your dorm room. Yet, every time it's here in _my_ kitchen! Mine, do you understand that? It's _mine_. What part of that is not being understood?" he demanded.

Willow blushed and looked to the ground as Buffy watched him, a look of apology crossing her face. "Sorry," she offered. "We'll…um, remember that next time." With that, she tugged Willow's hand and led her from the apartment.

"Did you get the Wheetabix?" Spike drawled as he walked in and began to rummage through the bags.

"_You,_" Giles hissed and Spike looked up at him in shock. "The next time I catch _you_ in here, I'm not going to the butcher shop for a week. You can bloody well fry in the sun trying to get your own blood for all I care."

Turning on his heel, he stomped up the stairs and closed himself up in his room, trying and failing, once again, to not think about what might have happened if he had taken any longer in the store. Spike looked at the steps for a moment before continuing his treasure hunt through the bags, mumbling a, "Ruddy mid-life crisis," before picking up a blood bag in triumph.

**Haha. There you go. Sorry about the long wait and the abrupt ending to this chapter. It took me a while to get this idea down. Tell me what you thought. I'll probably do Faith's or Angel's next. :3**


	10. Being Nothing

**Here's Faith's. I got more in depth with her character in this one than I meant to, but I actually feel emotionally attached to this chapter…as creepy as that sounds. This is set in season three during the episode **_**Choices**_**. Enjoy. :3**

_Nothing_

"Now you have no one. You were a Slayer and now you're nothing. You're just a big selfish, worthless waste." Willow practically spit the spite-covered words at her. Faith took a step back, almost fearful, before she remembered that words were the only thing that Willow could use against her.

But, _damn,_ that had been cold. Colder than anything Faith herself had said. Okay, so maybe that wasn't _completely _true, but still. That was when Faith realized that what the girl in front of her said had _hurt _her feelings of all things. That was when she felt something snap.

Before she knew what was happening, her hand was in the air, flying towards Willow in a blur that made her dizzy. The back of her hand collided with Willow's jaw, sending her flying to the ground with a grunt and a thud. Her mouth even seemed to be working on its own as she heard herself say, "You hurt me, I hurt you. I'm just a little more efficient."

Willow glared at her as she got back to her feet, her eyes set in a defiant glare. "Aw, here I was just thinking you didn't have a comeback."

The blood rushed to her face as she felt the anger burning just under her skin. "You're begging for some deep pain."

Setting her jaw, Willow shook her head slightly. "I'm not afraid of you."

Once again, Faith _felt _when she lost control. She moved forward swiftly and pushed Willow into the wall. The sound of her body's impact with the wall echoed in Faith's ears and she realized for the first time how much trouble she could be getting into right about now. But this was it. She wanted it done. She wanted Willow to pay for her words. It was more than that, though. She wanted _Buffy _to pay for it. She wanted to cut Buffy so deep, she'd give up fighting. One jab, one slice would end it, and she'd go down without a fight and Faith had the key to the plan trapped. Then she'd be the only Slayer and she wasn't planning on returning to a Watcher-controlled life, either. All she had to do was use her gift.

"Let's see what we can do about that," she said angrily as she slowly reached down and pulled out her knife. She pulled it up into the air so that Willow could see her end before she pressed the blade into her throat, applying just enough pressure that she would be able to feel how sharp it was. Willow's eyes were wide with fear and acceptance of her fate and Faith could practically _see_ Buffy's image in them.

Of course that's who Willow would be thinking about in her final moment. Not her mongrel of a boyfriend, not her oldest friend, not the librarian, or, hell, even her parents. She was thinking about Buffy Summers. Perhaps she was berating herself for having failed their cause. Maybe she was repeating her practiced confession; the one she _never_ got around to blurting out in a moment followed by awkward silences and nonchalant coughs. It could be that she was remembering the last time she'd seen the Slayer before Faith had caught her and brought her in as hostage. It was over, Faith was sure she was saying to herself. And she was right.

Faith resolved to finish it with that moment; bring down the others and give Buffy a reason to stop fighting. Her fingers twitched, anticipating the motion she was currently going over in her head. One movement, one swipe to the right. It was so simple that it was almost anticlimactic. The end of Buffy & Co.; the last good Slayer and her mediocre Wicca girlfriend.

"Girls, I hope I don't have to separate you two." The Mayor's voice sounded from behind her, but Faith kept her eyes on the prize. This _had_ to end now, she knew. If it didn't, it wouldn't end at all. "Faith, you can play with your new toy later. Something came up." Faith didn't look away as he spoke, far too busy watching the relief blatantly appear on Willow's face. She was going to live, she'd found. For now, at least. Again, Faith watched as Buffy's image flashed against the girl's eyes. "Faith! You know I don't like repeating myself."

Faith stood there, drawing the knife back and stepping backwards slightly, but keeping Willow trapped between her and the wall. The other girl was breathing rapidly, her heart rate having increased in what she believed to be her last minutes on earth. _She was going to live. _Faith set her jaw and gritted her teeth because she wasn't 'nothing.' She wasn't alone and she _did_ have someone. Sure, she didn't have some mega creepy secret love affair going for her, but, hell, she had someone to think about right before she died.

"I got someone," Faith assured her, her voice quiet as she tried to hide the emotion hidden behind the words. "I got him." She nodded her head back towards the Mayor. He wasn't Willow's 'sacred' Buffy, but he was _someone_ at least. And he was what kept her from being nothing.

**Okay, so I got more in depth with the Faith-reading in that one, but that episode actually makes me feel bad for her. And Willow 'cause she's constantly getting manhandled. XD Still, there was plenty of Wiffy to go around, as you could tell, I'm sure.**

**Anyway, Angel's chapter is going up tomorrow.**


	11. Being Proud

**Here's Angel's. It's set in **_**Pangs**_ **from season four. Enjoy.**

_Proud_

She looked good, he decided as he glanced into the window of Giles's apartment, even if she had spent the better part of the night fighting off Native American spirit warriors. When he'd first left, he'd been worried that she would refuse to move on. But she had, he noticed, and she seemed to be much better off than he'd expected.

He'd watched her the night before. It had felt weird, seeing her and knowing that she couldn't see him, and, for a few minutes, he'd considered showing himself. But she'd moved on and he'd wanted it to stay that way. Seeing him could potentially make it more difficult for her. So he'd stayed hidden in the bushes outside their dormitory, hidden in the shadows, away from her eyes, where he decided he belonged.

They were cleaning up the ruined apartment and he'd had to duck around them as they'd moved so that they wouldn't see him through the broken windows. Xander, Willow, Giles, that other girl and Buffy were working together. _His_ Buffy. It didn't seem like she was his anymore, though. He'd noticed that the night before and he saw that it was much more obvious from closer up. As he watched, Willow tried to pull an arrow from the wall. She finally succeeded in pulling it out, but stumbled back as she did so. Buffy, who happened to be standing surveying her work nearby, caught Willow in her arms and smiled down at her. For some reason, the twinkle in her eyes—the same one he'd seen as she'd looked at her roommate the night before—chilled him to the bone.

As Xander finished sweeping up the broken glass that had layered the floor, all five of them stood about inspecting their work and ignoring a groaning Spike. His heart ached as he watched Buffy lean into Willow's side, her hand on Willow's stomach as the red head's arm snaked around her small frame, her hand gently grasping Buffy's waist. It was a perfect moment and he was surprised as pride swelled in his chest. She'd moved on, found someone else—someone who, might he add, was more normal than he and could give her the things she needed—and he couldn't be more proud.

He left them there, their arms around each other, just inside of the apartment, and, as he walked down the street, he noticed one feeling he was lacking; jealousy. Because she'd moved on and he couldn't be happier for her.

**There's Angel's chapter. Might do Parker's next. **


	12. Being Impressed

**Here's Parker's chapter. Set in season four directly after **_**Beer Bad.**_

_Impressed_

His head still hurt. Even three days later. After it had been hit—more than once, might he add—a large knot had appeared at the point of impact, and it throbbed with each movement, head turn, and blink.

The sunlight made it worse, too. He wondered briefly if he should just kip classes. Maybe stay in his dorm and sleep for a few more hours than strictly necessary. Then he remembered that Walsh would most likely kick him out of her class for such tomfoolery. So he'd been off, wincing with each step coming like habit.

Maybe he'd deserved. Alright, so he _had _deserved it. He knew he had. Okay, maybe not so much the third time, but definitely the first two times.

As he took a seat in the lecture hall, his eyes trailed around until they unconsciously settled on Buffy. She sat a couple of rows ahead and to the right of his seat, directly next to Willow. They weren't talking, just looking around the room at all of the others. He could almost feel the tension between them from where he sat, close to fifteen feet away.

While he watched, they both turned to one another and tried to speak at once. Although he couldn't hear what was said, he saw Buffy gesture for Willow to go ahead. She said something that made her companion smile widely at her and reply quickly. After speaking for a few moments, they both turned to the front of the lecture hall. Parker's mouth nearly fell open as he saw their hands link together under their desks.

_Some friendships are based on a deep emotional tie. Or a loyal friendship._

As he watched them subtly holding hands beneath their desks, everything started to click into place in his head; why Willow had confronted him as angrily as she had, why she hadn't seemed interesting as he'd tried to charm her, why that short guy hadn't been sitting near them for the past few weeks, why they were always smiling at each other. He'd been so stupid, so naïve. He felt his face turn red as he continued to watch them silently.

_I'm impressed that you care so much about her._

His own words jumped into his throat and he felt far more foolish than he had before. It was plain, obvious even, right there in the open. He'd embarrassed himself. Briefly, he knew deep down that he'd deserved it. He had been awful to Buffy. To both of them, even.

Parker watched as Buffy and Willow shared a smile and turned away, both blushing, knowing that this was exactly what he had coming to him.

**I'm not so proud of that chapter. However, I will post…Hm…Probably Wesley's tomorrow. **


End file.
